As major web sites become frustrated by literally giving away their product, The New York Times has made a major decision that could have a wide impact on the future of free web access. The Times, facing big fall-offs in advertising revenue that most newspapers are suffering, is thriving on its web site, which attracts a staggering 20 million unique users every month. However, the only revenue it derives from the site is through advertisers and the profits have been weak. The Times is about to announce a plan that will allow infrequent visitors to their site to read a certain number of stories for free. However, frequent visitors will have to pay a subscription fee. The Times tried this approach several years ago but withdrew the plan when its own columnists complained that their readership dropped significantly. Additionally, no other major newspapers followed their lead, leaving the Times out on a limb alone. This time, however, others may adopt the same plan. Publishing magnate Rupert Murdoch has been making loud noises about the fact that only the print medium is expected to give away the fruits of its labor force for free, even though they still have to pay reporters and staffers for doing the work. There is a chance that Murdoch may also jump on board with some sort of pay model.Murdoch has a point: consumers don't expect to download their favorite music and movies for free, nor would anyone expect to plunk themselves down in a Broadway theater or a concert without paying for the privilege. In the near future, Variety will go the way of a subscription plan for its on-line site. Although these sites are expected to lose a major amount of traffic, the bottom line is what counts: and having a fraction of readers pay for the stories they read is ultimately far more rewarding to the companies than simply boasting of the number of web surfers they attract.
Click here to read the New York magazine web site article for more (and yes, it's free!)
